This invention relates to a sprinkler, and in particular to a play sprinkler designed for children. The sprinkler has movable parts that change the direction of water discharged from the sprinkler, providing for an entertaining area for the child to play.
There are other sprinklers with movable parts that change the direction of the discharged water. Many of these sprinklers generally either create movement of appendages that are random due to connections allowing universal movement, create no motion of an appendage attached to a water tube, create rotating motion, or create movement through water sprays that directly impact a moveable body part. U.S. Pat. No. 2,030,605 to Moore discloses a lawn sprinkler with a relatively movable part that moves due to a supply of water to the sprinkler. The figure has an upper arm section and a lower arm section pivotally mounted thereto, and moveable relative to the body of the figure. The connections between the moveable sections are made of interchanged rings or eyes capable of universal movement such that when water flows through the hose, the arm sections randomly wiggle in an erratic manner. The universal joint movement between the sections and the rotation of the figure make it appear that the jointed arm sections move about erratically with respect to each other and with respect to movement of the figure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,514 to Kennard discloses a similar lawn sprinkler of a human figure with an arm having sections that are pivotally mounted to and moveable relative to the body. The sections are attached together by means of ball and socket universal joints permitting random movement. Kennard also discloses the figure being rotatable in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction such that the figure pivots reciprocally right and left while rotating about a vertical axis due to the water flow engaging a turbine blade.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,378 to Melin discloses a water play toy with multiple flexible hollow tubes attached to an outlet section at the top of the toy. The water flow imparts random motion on the hollow tubes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,380 to Jun; U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,494 to Harwood; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,241,092 to Jurgilanis disclose lawn sprinklers utilizing water pressure to drive a rotating appendage. Harwood uses either internal water flow or reaction forces from water jets to rotate a decorative element.
Another water sprayer configured in the form of an animal is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,603 to Driska. The water sprayer includes a stationary torso and legs and a movable tail, head, and ears. The tail and ears move when they are directly impacted by streams of water that are sprayed through various outlet nozzles. The ears flap about the head moving both backwards, forwards, inwardly and outwardly relative to the head as different parts of the ears are hit by the fluid jets. Because the head is also rotating, the point of impact of the fluid jets on the ears is constantly varying so that the flapping is essentially random. Another two spray jets impact the tail causing it to pivot from side to side relative to the torso.